A finding that alleged sexual assault victim Brittany Higgins defamed her in social media posts has left former senator Linda Reynolds feeling vindicated.
Ms Higgins’ former boss Ms Reynolds launched a defamation lawsuit over a series of Instagram posts and tweets that the ex-defence minister believed damaged her reputation.
Western Australian Supreme Justice Paul Tottle found on Wednesday the three posts were defamatory and awarded damages of $315,000 plus $26,109 interest.
Outside court, Ms Reynolds said Justice Tottle had definitively established the truth.
“It is a great relief that my reputation has been finally and fully vindicated,” she told reporters.
“However, it is disappointing that it took four-and-a-half years, multiple court actions and millions of dollars.”
Ms Reynolds said the legal case was never about Ms Higgins’ rape allegation or money.
“This action was always about the dishonest and devastating attack of my reputation.
“Those lies cost me my reputation. It cost me my health and my career.
“This has been an incredibly emotionally and financially taxing journey but I never gave up on the truth and on seeking justice.”
Ms Reynolds claimed a January 2022 tweet published by Ms Higgins and her husband David Sharaz conveyed two imputations.
The first was that she pressured Ms Higgins not to proceed with a sexual assault complaint and the second was that Ms Reynolds was a hypocrite in her advocacy of gender equality and female empowerment.
Justice Tottle found both were defamatory.
Ms Higgins’ Instagram story from July 4, 2023 was alleged to have contained three imputations.
These were that Ms Reynolds engaged in a campaign of harassing Ms Higgins, mishandled Ms Higgins’ rape allegation, and that Ms Reynolds engaged in questionable conduct during Bruce Lehrmann’s aborted criminal trial.
“Each of these imputations was defamatory,” Justice Tottle said.
Ms Higgins’ July 20, 2023 tweet, which conveyed the imputation Ms Reynolds wanted to silence sexual assault victims, was also found to be defamatory.
But Ms Reynolds’ claim failed because Ms Higgins established the defences of honest opinion, fair comment and qualified privilege, Justice Tottle said.
Ms Reynolds’ claim of conspiracy related to the intent of Ms Higgins’ interviews with journalists Lisa Wilkinson from Network Ten’s The Project and Gold Walkley award-winner Samantha Maiden from News Corp also failed.
Justice Tottle said Ms Reynolds had not proven Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz’s purpose was to injure her.
Ms Reynolds’ claim that Ms Higgins had breached a contract that restricted either party from making adverse, critical or disparaging comments concerning their dispute in four July 2023 Instagram stories was upheld by the court.
But Justice Tottle turned down Ms Reynolds’ application for an injunction gagging Ms Higgins.
During the five-week trial, Ms Higgins’ lawyer Rachael Young said her client was a courageous woman who was sued for speaking up. Her motive for doing so was not to harm the senator but to drive workplace reforms and stop anyone else from experiencing what she had gone through.
Ms Higgins did not give evidence at the trial for medical reasons.
She alleged she was raped by Lehrmann in the senator’s ministerial suite in March 2019.
A Federal Court judge overseeing a defamation case launched by Lehrmann against Network Ten found Ms Higgins was, on the balance of probabilities, raped by Lehrmann in the office.
Lehrmann is appealing that finding.
He has always denied the rape allegation and his criminal trial was derailed by juror misconduct.
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